Dairy Shorthorn

The Dairy Shorthorn is a British breed of dairy cattle. It derives from the Shorthorn cattle of Teesside, in the North Riding of Yorkshire and in Northumbria (now divided between County Durham and Northumberland) in north-eastern England. The Dairy Shorthorn was for this reason at first known as the Durham or Teeswater.

Selective breeding for a dairy type began in the late eighteenth century. This is known as the Dairy Shorthorn in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia and South Africa, and as the Milking Shorthorn in New Zealand. The Milking Shorthorn of Canada and the United States shares the origins of the Dairy Shorthorn, but has developed in a different way. The Illawarra Shorthorn of Australia is largely descended from the Dairy Shorthorn.

Worldwide, the conservation status of the Dairy Shorthorn, the Illawarra Shorthorn and the Milking Shorthorn is "not at risk". In the United Kingdom the small remainder of the breed not affected by indiscriminate cross-breeding in the twentieth century is known as the Dairy Shorthorn (Original Population). It is critically endangered. Both it and the Northern Dairy Shorthorn are listed as "priority" – the highest category of risk – on the watchlist of the Rare Breeds Survival Trust.